A chat with Ikechukwu Innocent Kalu,
Managing Partner at Customer Passion Point a company registered and operated in
Tanzania and Nigeria.
Who is Ikechukwu Innocent kalu? Iyke is
fondly called by his family and friends is an exciting Christian Man how wants
to make a difference in the areas of social and economic value creation. He is
aged 48, a Nigerian. He is married to Chinwe and they are blessed with 4 lovely
children and living in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
What brought you to Tanzania? I came to work
in Tanzania as an expatriate at Zanzibar telecoms Limited (Zantel), a part of
Etisalat in the capacity of Marketing Director. I was recruited from Nigeria,
where I was working with Zain (Now Airtel) as Head of Segments. When the
contract ended I had three months to clear up things and that turned out to be
one of the most exciting periods of my life. It was during this period I
conceived the idea to start my own business and I saw a gap in what I call
‘Value Creation Consulting’. To pursue it, I had to start the registration
process of a business later to be known as Customer Passion Point Limited and we
eventually started operations in April 2011.
Why value creation consultancy? I have
worked for 28 years, with an experience that cut across several professions and
culture. I have attended several trainings haven worked with world class
organizations. I had so much in me that new and growing businesses could benefit
from. Marketing and marketing communications industry is still developing in
Tanzania. We thought we could fill the gap.
What do you do as a value creation
consultant? We basically seat with business owners and work them through a
process that enables them understand their business issues better and look
inward for solutions to those issues. We develop insights and implement
practical solutions that will enable our client create and sustain value. That
way there is ownership on the part of client.
Who have you worked with in Tanzania? Our
first client was Benchmark Productions Limited. We were engaged to market Bongo
Star Search. We provided the marketing support required to position Bongo Star
Search (BSS) properly and sourced sponsors to fund the program. This went well
and we had a great success in 2011. The contract continued into 2012 but we are
no longer involved because BSS now has a sole sponsor that has a marketing
department that is capable.
Our second client was SOS Children Villages
in Tanzania, a non-profit organization. We worked with them to grow quality
awareness for the cause they support with a view to attracting corporate and
personal sponsors. We worked with the team to leverage the celebration of their
40 years anniversary (worldwide) to connect with Tanzania in an exciting way.
Former President Alhaji Mwinyi was honored as grand patron of the Children
Villages. This gave them huge media blitz and provided a platform for Tanzania
to understand and buy into their vision.
Currently we consult for Ecobank Tanzania,
Wellness Services Tanzania and ATEMI Data Services, helping to drive marketing
mind set across the business. We developed and are right now managing an
exciting customer acquisition promo ‘Win Big with Ecobank promotion’ that
started 4th June.
What else do you do? I am a very active
member of the Ocean in Dar – An Internationals Community Church, which is a
part of the Tanzania Assemblies of God Church. I am also a partner at Marketing
Initiatives Limited (www.marketinginitiativesltd.com), the organizers the
Tanzania Marketing communications Conference (TMCC). We have held several
seminars that have been judged as very educational and world-class in delivery
and the main conference will hold September 2012. TMCC is a capacity building initiative
that we are excited about and we hope to grow it to become a 'must attend' program
for marketing and non-marketing professionals in Tanzania’.
How has it been in Tanzania? It’s been interesting.
Everything about me has be tried and tested and I am better for it. The first
shock I got is the understanding that contracts don't really matter. People
just walk away from contracts as if nothing happened. The work culture is also
different from what I am used to. Things are a bit slow here and when you try
to push things, you are perceived to be too pushy and insensitive to others.
However, I am copping better now haven been self employed for a little over a
year now.
Customer Passion Point Limited is here to
stay. We love the challenges in the market place and appreciate the
opportunities they present. Read more about us at www.customerpassionpoint.com
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